Friday, May 8, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Lauds & Laurels’ outstanding student-athlete
Original Article
Great article on Steller!
Jon Steller
Lauds & Laurels’ outstanding student-athlete
A winning season
Volleyball player Jon Steller is a standout on the court, in the community and at school (05.01.2009)
On his right arm, fifth-year volleyball player Jon Steller has tattooed Greek numbers symbolizing his favorite biblical passage: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”
He can see the tattoo when he makes a “kill” – a volleyball spike the opposing team is unable to return; when he rolls up his sleeves while volunteering at a free healthcare clinic in Mexico; and when he’s in class, pursuing a double major in neurobiology and the classics at UC Irvine.
“It’s a way to check if I’m living according to my philosophy – if I’m doing the right thing,” says Steller, who hopes to become a doctor.
That philosophy has made him a winner on the court, in the community and at school, earning him the 2009 Lauds & Laurels award for outstanding student-athlete. (The UCI Alumni Association’s Lauds & Laurels ceremony takes place Thursday, May 14, at the Hilton Irvine.)
Steller has helped his teammates reach the top of their game, winning the national title in 2007 and delivering another white-knuckle season this spring.
“After we won the national title, we went to the White House and met President Bush. It was a neat experience to shake his hand and give him a stuffed Anteater,” Steller says.
Among many other athletic and academic honors, he made the 2007 Living Our Values student honor roll and was named to the 2008 American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America Second Team.
Still, Steller’s not in the game for personal glory.
After a knee injury and a painful loss in the 2006 NCAA semifinals, he says, he “learned to set aside my own goals for team goals.”
“Out of this team awareness sprouted a social awareness,” Steller wrote in his medical school application. “Assuming responsibility for my teammates, my friends and my family, while honorable, isn’t enough. I have a social responsibility to step outside my comfortable Southern California life, whether it is 10,000 miles or 10 minutes from home, because I have the capacity to make a difference.”
In 2007, he spent three weeks in Ukraine on a humanitarian mission, visiting orphanages and establishing a summer camp for homeless children. “Many are toddlers abandoned by their parents. We went there to give them some attention and hope,” Steller says.
He also belongs to OrangeFISH (Fellowship for International Service and Health), a student-run nonprofit that provides medical services to the needy abroad. Under its auspices, Steller in May 2008 assisted a doctor at a clinic for the poor outside Tijuana, Mexico.
“Jon transcends what it means to be a student-athlete by his global perspective and service,” wrote athletics director Michael Izzi in his Lauds & Laurels nomination letter.
This fall, after marrying his high school sweetheart, Steller will begin medical school at UCI – his first choice, he says, because “it has the same philosophy that I do of wanting to serve the underserved.”
— Kathryn Bold, University Communications
Four Men's Volleyball Players Earn All-American Distinction
UC Irvine Story on All-Americans
Four Men's Volleyball Players Earn All-American Distinction
Ryan Ammerman named to the first team
May 5, 2009
Irvine, Calif. – Four UC Irvine men’s volleyball players earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American honors including Ryan Ammerman who was named to the first team.
Sophomore outside hitter Jordan DuFault, sophomore middle blocker Kevin Wynne and freshman opposite Carson Clark were each selected to the second team. It is the first All-American honor for each player.
Ammerman is averaging 12.55 set assists which is ranked 12th nationally. He leads the team in service aces with 28. The senior becomes the fifth UCI player to earn first team distinction. He was named AVCA National Player of the Week as well as MPSF Co-Player of the Week on Mar. 8, 2009. He was also named first team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF).
DuFault is averaging 3.25 kills and 3.93 points per set. He also averages 1.81 digs and 0.91 blocks per set. The third team All-MPSF selection garnered AVCA National Player of the Week and MPSF Co-Player of the Week on Apr. 13.
Wynne is ranked 14th nationally in blocking with a 1.34 mark. He ranks third overall among MPSF players in hitting percentage (.467) and led the league in MPSF-matches only (.479). The sophomore was a second team All-MPSF choice.
Clark, a redshirt freshman, joins Brent Asuka as the only two UCI freshmen to earn All-American status in their first year. He leads the team in kills averaging 3.94 per set, which is 17th in the country. The opposite is hitting .344 overall which is 25th in the country. He was honored as the MPSF Freshman of the Year as well as first team and All-Freshman team accolades.
No. 1 seed UC Irvine takes on No. 4 Ohio State in the NCAA Championship semifinal Thursday (May 7) in Provo, UT at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time.
Four Men's Volleyball Players Earn All-American Distinction
Ryan Ammerman named to the first team
May 5, 2009
Irvine, Calif. – Four UC Irvine men’s volleyball players earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American honors including Ryan Ammerman who was named to the first team.
Sophomore outside hitter Jordan DuFault, sophomore middle blocker Kevin Wynne and freshman opposite Carson Clark were each selected to the second team. It is the first All-American honor for each player.
Ammerman is averaging 12.55 set assists which is ranked 12th nationally. He leads the team in service aces with 28. The senior becomes the fifth UCI player to earn first team distinction. He was named AVCA National Player of the Week as well as MPSF Co-Player of the Week on Mar. 8, 2009. He was also named first team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF).
DuFault is averaging 3.25 kills and 3.93 points per set. He also averages 1.81 digs and 0.91 blocks per set. The third team All-MPSF selection garnered AVCA National Player of the Week and MPSF Co-Player of the Week on Apr. 13.
Wynne is ranked 14th nationally in blocking with a 1.34 mark. He ranks third overall among MPSF players in hitting percentage (.467) and led the league in MPSF-matches only (.479). The sophomore was a second team All-MPSF choice.
Clark, a redshirt freshman, joins Brent Asuka as the only two UCI freshmen to earn All-American status in their first year. He leads the team in kills averaging 3.94 per set, which is 17th in the country. The opposite is hitting .344 overall which is 25th in the country. He was honored as the MPSF Freshman of the Year as well as first team and All-Freshman team accolades.
No. 1 seed UC Irvine takes on No. 4 Ohio State in the NCAA Championship semifinal Thursday (May 7) in Provo, UT at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time.
Monday, May 4, 2009
4 Anteaters are All-Americans!
2009 AVCA-All America Teams
Congratulations and great work for the guys!
1st Team
Ryan Ammerman
2nd Team
Carson Clark
Jordan DuFault
Kevin Wynne
Congratulations and great work for the guys!
1st Team
Ryan Ammerman
2nd Team
Carson Clark
Jordan DuFault
Kevin Wynne
Sunday, May 3, 2009
'Eaters to Play for Another National Championship in Provo!
Just announced on ESPN News!
UCI enters the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Final Four as the #1 seed! Here are the semifinals:
Semi #1: #3 USC vs. #2 Penn St., 6:00 PST, Thursday 5/7. (ESPNU)
Semi #2: #4 Ohio St. vs. #1 UCI, 8:00 PST, Thursday 5/7. (ESPNU)
If there are any corrections I'll post them here!
GO 'EATERS!
UCI enters the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship Final Four as the #1 seed! Here are the semifinals:
Semi #1: #3 USC vs. #2 Penn St., 6:00 PST, Thursday 5/7. (ESPNU)
Semi #2: #4 Ohio St. vs. #1 UCI, 8:00 PST, Thursday 5/7. (ESPNU)
If there are any corrections I'll post them here!
GO 'EATERS!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Anteaters stunned
Daily Pilot Article by Barry Faulkner
Published Thursday, April 30, 2009 11:00 PM PDT
Sports
Anteaters stunned
VOLLEYBALL: USC upsets top-ranked UC Irvine at the Bren to move on to the championship.
By Barry Faulkner
IRVINE — The invincibility of the UC Irvine men’s volleyball team took a substantial hit Thursday night, as visiting No. 4-ranked USC pounced on the top-ranked Anteaters to claim a 30-25, 30-25, 30-27 victory in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament at the Bren Events Center.
The loss does not figure to cost UCI its NCAA title hopes, as the Anteaters (24-6) are still expected to earn an at-large into the four-team NCAA Championship, May 7 and 9 at BYU.
USC, however, appeared to be a team potent enough to get to Provo, Utah. The Trojans (19-10), the No. 5 seed in the MPSF Tournament, will need to defeat No. 2-ranked Pepperdine in Saturday’s tournament final to earn the conference’s guaranteed berth in the Final Four.
UCI had won six straight matches, 13 in a row at home and 10 consecutive meetings with USC.
Instead, the Anteaters were forced to wave goodbye to their final home crowd of the season, and hope to regroup to bid for their second NCAA crown in three seasons.
“I still think we probably get the at-large [NCAA Tournament berth],” UCI Coach John Speraw said. “We should. We were the best team all season. But it’s a political decision and I told the guys they need to prepare themselves for the reality of the possibility that a decision could go against them.
“But I think we’re the best team and we can go out to Provo and win a title.”
UCI will learn its NCAA Tournament fate Sunday at 10:30 a.m. when the championship pairings will be announced.
Murphy Troy, a 6-foot-8 sophomore outside hitter, paced the winners with 19 kills, matching UCI senior outside hitter Taylor Wilson for match-high honors.
Troy hit .600, making just one error on 30 swings.
Tony Ciarelli, a 6-6 freshman outside hitter, had 18 kills and a match-high four ace serves for the Trojans.
Wilson finished with a .484 hitting percentage as UCI hit .462 as a team in the match.
USC hit .392 as a team, but produced 12 aces, doubling UCI’s total.
UCI, the nation’s top blocking team, posted a 4.5-4 edge in team blocks, and made 14 service errors, to just six by the Trojans.
“That is probably the best [aces to service errors] ratio in the history of the MPSF,” said Speraw, who said his team’s poor defense was the key.
“We didn’t do enough. We didn’t pass the ball right off the bat … Our offense actually played great. When you’re hitting about .490 and you’re getting your butt kicked, that says something about what your defense is doing.”
USC seized a 6-1 lead in the opening set and lead by five several times before the Anteaters rallied to pull even at 20-20 and 21-21.
But five service errors, including three late, helped UCI squander a .379 hitting percentage.
USC hit .353 in the first set and had three aces with only three service errors.
The Trojans maintained the intensity in Game 2, pulling away from a 6-6 deadlock to earn a 13-7 advantage that eventually became 23-16, before closing it out. UCI hit .517 as a team in Game 2, but USC hit .406, behind powerful kills from Troy and Ciarelli.
At the end of the second set, Murphy had 13 kills and was hitting .632. Ciarelli, the nephew of Newport Harbor High football and track and field assistant coach Tony Ciarelli, had 11 kills. Both Troy and Ciarelli had three aces apiece entering Game 3.
Freshman Carson Clark had 13 kills and led the ’Eaters with 12 digs and three aces.
Senior setter Ryan Ammerman, like Clark a first-team All-MPSF performer, had 44 assists.
NCAA Selection Show for 2009 NCAA Final Four
We NEED to get into the Final Four! You know I'll be praying on this one!
Men's NCAA Selection announcement will be Sunday between 1:30 and 2 p.m. ET on ESPNews
Men's NCAA Selection announcement will be Sunday between 1:30 and 2 p.m. ET on ESPNews
Trojans Rock Eater Nation
Fifth-seed USC Upsets No. 1 UC Irvine, 3-0 In MPSF Semifinal
Anteaters hit .462 for the match
April 30, 2009
Final Stats
Irvine, Calif. – Fifth-seed USC upset No. 1 seed and No.1 ranked UC Irvine, 3-0 (30-25, 30-25, 30-25) in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation semifinal match at the Bren Center Thursday.
Pepperdine defeated Cal State Northridge in the other semifinal, 3-1 (27-30, 40-38, 30-26, 30-23) so the Waves will meet the Trojans in the championship match Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in the Bren Center.
The Trojans, who are ranked fourth nationally, end UCI’s six-match winning streak and knock off the Anteaters for the first time in 11 tries. UCI goes to 25-5 overall while USC improves to 19-10.
UCI hit .462 (53-11-91) for the match, the third highest offensive total for the Anteaters this year. USC hit .392 (52-12-102) and fired 12 service aces, the most aces registered against UCI this season. The Anteaters had committed just four receiving errors in the last three matches combined. UCI had a season-low 4.5 blocks and still managed to out-block the Trojans who had just 4.0.
UCI was led by Taylor Wilson with 19 kills, hitting at a .484 clip (19-4-31). The senior also recorded two aces. Opposite Carson Clark added 13 kills, three aces, a team-high three blocks and a match and career-high 12 digs. Middle blocker Kevin Wynne hit .545 with seven kills and two blocks.
Murphy Troy led the Trojans with 19 kills hitting .600 (19-1-30). Tony Ciarelli put away 18 kills and a team-best eight digs. Setter Riley McKibben added 42 set assists and seven digs.
USC jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set and never trailed in the game. The Trojans led 18-13 before UCI went on a 7-2 run to tie the game at 20-20. Following an Anteater service error, Riley McKibben recorded a kill to give USC a two-point cushion, 23-21. Taylor Wilson put away a kill following an Irvine timeout, but the Trojans responded with a 3-0 spurt to go ahead 26-22 on their way to a 30-25 victory.
UCI hit .527 in the second set, but the Trojans took a 2-0 lead with another 30-25 victory. USC fired five aces and hit .457. All USC needed was a kill by Murphy Troy followed by a pair of kills by Tony Ciarelli to take a 9-6 led and the Anteaters would get no closer than three the rest of the way.
In the third set, UCI jumped out an early 6-3 lead but USC knotted the score at 18-18. The teams remained closed and with the score tied at 25-25, USC used a kill by Ciarelli and an Anteater attack error to go ahead 27-25. USC would side out for the 30-27 victory and the match 3-0.
Anteaters hit .462 for the match
April 30, 2009
Final Stats
Irvine, Calif. – Fifth-seed USC upset No. 1 seed and No.1 ranked UC Irvine, 3-0 (30-25, 30-25, 30-25) in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation semifinal match at the Bren Center Thursday.
Pepperdine defeated Cal State Northridge in the other semifinal, 3-1 (27-30, 40-38, 30-26, 30-23) so the Waves will meet the Trojans in the championship match Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in the Bren Center.
The Trojans, who are ranked fourth nationally, end UCI’s six-match winning streak and knock off the Anteaters for the first time in 11 tries. UCI goes to 25-5 overall while USC improves to 19-10.
UCI hit .462 (53-11-91) for the match, the third highest offensive total for the Anteaters this year. USC hit .392 (52-12-102) and fired 12 service aces, the most aces registered against UCI this season. The Anteaters had committed just four receiving errors in the last three matches combined. UCI had a season-low 4.5 blocks and still managed to out-block the Trojans who had just 4.0.
UCI was led by Taylor Wilson with 19 kills, hitting at a .484 clip (19-4-31). The senior also recorded two aces. Opposite Carson Clark added 13 kills, three aces, a team-high three blocks and a match and career-high 12 digs. Middle blocker Kevin Wynne hit .545 with seven kills and two blocks.
Murphy Troy led the Trojans with 19 kills hitting .600 (19-1-30). Tony Ciarelli put away 18 kills and a team-best eight digs. Setter Riley McKibben added 42 set assists and seven digs.
USC jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set and never trailed in the game. The Trojans led 18-13 before UCI went on a 7-2 run to tie the game at 20-20. Following an Anteater service error, Riley McKibben recorded a kill to give USC a two-point cushion, 23-21. Taylor Wilson put away a kill following an Irvine timeout, but the Trojans responded with a 3-0 spurt to go ahead 26-22 on their way to a 30-25 victory.
UCI hit .527 in the second set, but the Trojans took a 2-0 lead with another 30-25 victory. USC fired five aces and hit .457. All USC needed was a kill by Murphy Troy followed by a pair of kills by Tony Ciarelli to take a 9-6 led and the Anteaters would get no closer than three the rest of the way.
In the third set, UCI jumped out an early 6-3 lead but USC knotted the score at 18-18. The teams remained closed and with the score tied at 25-25, USC used a kill by Ciarelli and an Anteater attack error to go ahead 27-25. USC would side out for the 30-27 victory and the match 3-0.
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